Ink Review #2484: Private Reserve Tropical Blue

Today’s ink is Private Reserve Tropical Blue. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Tropical Blue is a medium blue.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has some pink sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

• EF Pilot Vanishing Point

• F, M, B Pilot Ishime

• Vintage Mabie Todd Swan (flex nib)

• Rhodia Goalbook

• Taroko Enigma notebooks (68gsm TR)

• Leuchtturm A5

• Pen & Gear Paper from Walmart

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, tiny pink sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and a few dots of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Tropical Blue is one shade lighter than Monteverde Capri Blue. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pelikan M805 Vibrant Blue with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, the color is pretty but there’s more feathering than I like to see.

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Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.